Pensioner Poverty
1/212. What steps her Department is taking to help reduce levels of pensioner poverty.
The last Labour Government lifted more than 1 million pensioners out of poverty, and this Government remain absolutely committed to supporting pensioners. We know that there are low-income pensioners who are not claiming pension credit, and we urge them to apply. This will passport them to receive other benefits too.
These are extremely worrying times for millions of pensioners who simply cannot fathom why one of the first acts of this new Labour Government was to remove their winter fuel payments. The Minister will be aware that last month the SNP Scottish Government opened applications for the pension age disability payment, which could be worth up to £434 a month for pensioners with disabilities or long-term health conditions. It will be piloted in Scotland next year. Will the Minister join me in welcoming this initiative and encouraging those who are eligible to apply for it?
It is good to see that the SNP Government are focusing on that issue now, because during their 17 years in government, we have seen increases in pensioner poverty across Scotland.
Pensioners in poverty now have just 40 days to apply for the winter fuel payment via the pension credit system. Will the Minister look at extending the deadline so that more people can claim pension credit and get the winter fuel payment?
I reassure my hon. Friend that we have redeployed 500 additional staff to process the claims. We are working at pace to process them, but 21 December remains the deadline.